Abstract
2‐Amino‐3‐methylimidazo[4,5‐f]quinoline (IQ) and 2‐amino‐1‐methyl‐6‐phenylimidazo[4,5‐b)]pyridine (PhIP) are two members of a family of carcinogenic heterocyclic amines (HAs) found in cooked meats that form DNA adducts after activation to N‐acetoxy derivatives. The ability of IQ‐ and PhlP‐DNA adducts to inhibit gene expression was investigated using a human growth hormone (hGH) reporter gene in a pUC12‐based mammalian expression vector under the control of either the herpes simplex virus‐1 thymidine kinase promoter or the human immunodeficiency virus‐1 long terminal repeat. The plasmids were treated in vitro with 0, 5, 10, or 40 μM N‐hydroxy‐IQ or N‐hydroxy‐PhIP in the presence of a 10‐fold molar excess of acetic anhydride to generate the N‐acetoxy derivatives in situ. The adduct levels in the plasmids were quantitated by the ^32^P‐postlabeling method. The adducted (and control) plasmids were each transfected into repair‐deficient or ‐proficient Chinese hamster ovary cells, and expression of hGH was measured by immunoassay of growth hormone secreted into the cell medium. The results showed that IQ‐ and PhlP‐DNA adducts inhibited gene expression in both plasmids and that the degree of inhibition of hGH production was proportional to the levels of IQ‐ and PhlP‐DNA adducts. The degree of inhibition, however, was independent of the promoter, despite the differences in the strengths of the two promoters to drive hGH production. Repair capacity influenced the extent of inhibition of gene expression by HA adducts since, in general, fewer adducts were needed to inhibit reporter gene expression in repair‐deficient cells than in repair‐proficient cells. In both cell lines, DNA adducts of PhIP appeared to be more potent in inhibiting hGH expression than adducts of IQ. Whether alteration of gene expression by HA adducts plays a role in the carcinogenicity of these compounds deserves further study. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.